A Lifetime of Stories I Can Tell
by crazytomboy78
Summary: a collection of different one-shots. In his lifetime, he has gathered plenty of stories to tell. And people wonder how he's still able to keep a positive attitude...SORRRYYYY SUCKY SUMMARYYY DX
1. Blame

**Hey guys! SOOO sorry about the mix-up with My Old Friend Tess, I have no idea why I posted the wrong chapter. I get those two confused all the time for some reason…anyways, this is just a collection of one-shots that I need to write down and publish before I forget the ideas. Let's see where I go with this chapter, and maybe it will be a one shot maybe it won't. I'm not entirely sure yet…**

As he walked back from slamming his door, he passed the mirror and saw his reflection out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and turned to face himself. He stared at his reflection, shaking with anger as he balled his fists. He clenched his teeth and punched the mirror. The mirror smashed to pieces onto the floor, leaving his knuckles caked with blood. He went over to his desk and sat angrily. He rested his head his hands and let his silent tears fall onto the desktop. It was all his fault and he knew it. He heard a knock on his door. It sounded light, like the person knocking was trying to be polite. Tony didn't move. He heard the door quietly open and light footsteps come near him. A warm hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Tony, please…" She said softly. She tried to look for the right words, but couldn't find them. She noticed the smashed mirror and his bloody knuckle. She wasn't dumb; she realized what had happened. She didn't know whether she should start cleaning his hand or picking up the pieces of mirror. She instead grabbed the boy's bloody hand with both of her hands. He turned to face her, shaking with tears.

"What? Are you going to tell me 'everything's fine, it's going to be okay'? Well, don't bother because you're dead wrong. Everything that's happened today is all my fault. I could have saved him; it could have gone differently. It's all my fault…" The boy dropped his head back onto the desk.

"Tony, it's not your fault. You couldn't move, there was too much debris on top of you. You couldn't move until it was too late. Please, don't blame yourself for this." She begged him softly.

"It is. I could have avoided getting crushed, and I could have saved him from being shot. I could've made everything go differently. It could've all been okay now, but it's not. I always end up losing the people closest to me…Pepper, please, just…get away from me before something happens to you like it did everyone else I care about." He pointed towards the door.

"Tony, nothing's going to happen to me. I'm perfectly safe, I promise you." She tried to assure him. He stood and gripped her shoulders tightly.

"No, Pepper….please, don't bother with me anymore. If I lost you…." He turned and hid his tears from her. She was grateful that he cared for her that much.

"Tony, you'd never let anything bad happen to me, okay? Please, I hate to see you like this." She begged. The boy dropped to his knees on the floor and threw his head in his cupped hands as to hide his tears from the world.

"Please, just leave me to suffer." He cried. Pepper walked over to him and bent down next to him on the floor and placed her hand gently on his shoulder.

"Tony, the doctor said that there's still a chance that Rhodey was going to make it. Maybe we should be a little more optimistic about it." Pepper said.

"Yeah. The doctor also said there was still a chance he wasn't going to make it." Tony said angrily. Pepper sighed. It was going to be hard to cheer him up.

"Tony, there's always going to be a good way and a bad way to look at a situation. Those who only look at the bad side live miserably, while those who are positive live happily. Now wouldn't your dad and Rhodey, and Roberta, and your mom, all want you to be happy instead of miserable?" Pepper said. Tony's sobs stopped and he stood. Pepper stood after him.

"I guess you're right. My mom always told me that people who are happy in life get very far with themselves, and work hard. She told me to always be happy, no matter what happens. I told her I promised I would." Tony explained.

"Well, see? There you go. Think of the positives. Rhodey could make it, and hey, you could even get your dad back. And one thing you can always be happy about is that you always have me, and you always will." Pepper said. Tony smiled and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"Thanks, Pepper. You're always too good to me." Tony said. Pepper hugged him back.

"Tony, I could never hate you. I love you." Pepper said as she hugged him. Tony released a little so he could see her face. She smiled at him.

"I…I love you, too…" Tony replied. He leaned in and kissed her. Pepper was shocked for a moment but then kissed him back.

"I'll never let you go, ever…" Tony whispered to her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"No, don't ever let go of what you have, Tony." She whispered back. Tony felt warm tears start to fall down his cheeks once more. Then he felt his phone go off. He dropped his grip on Pepper and looked at his phone. It was the hospital. He sighed deeply and answered the call.

**Ending of this one-shot! Angsty, quite sad…idk why I'm in the mood for a cliffhanger ending. I guess its cuz my English class just finished watching 'The Birds'. Hmm…review!**


	2. Auntie Pepper, and Santa?

**Hey guys! Second one-shot coming up here. This one **_**is **_**about Christmas, yeah ik. It was a really cute idea I got from the stupid radio station I listen to that has started the Christmas music already….anyways, next one-shot!**

It was two days before Christmas Eve, and Pepper was waiting on her father to be ready to go to the airport.

"Dad, Olivia and Harry's flight comes into the airport in a half an hour. We need to go now!" Pepper called up the stairs.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Virgil **(A/N: remember, we're assuming that's his real name in the show since his name wasn't really revealed.) **said as he walked down the stairs. He grabbed his coat, car keys, and they walked out the front door. They found their way to the parking garage and went to Virgil's parking space. They climbed into the car and found the airport ten minutes away.

Pepper had requested that Tony, being her boyfriend, meet them at the airport so he could meet her sister and her nephew. Tony walked in a minute after Pepper and her father had, and saw them waiting at the front door for him. Tony waved and approached them. He firmly shook hands with Virgil, "Good to see you, sir." Tony greeted, and gave Pepper a hello kiss on the cheek.

"Good to see you again, too, son." Virgil smiled; the reference as Tony being 'son,' of course only an expression. Pepper giggled at their friendliness.

"Thanks for coming to meet my sister and her son, Tony." Pepper said.

"No problem. Anything for you." Tony smiled.

"Well, what do you kids say we go meet Olivia at the bag claim?" Virgil spoke up.

"Sure, let's go!" Pepper said excitedly. She hadn't seen her sister since thanksgiving.

Pepper's sister Olivia was in her twenties, and had recently been divorced by her husband of nine years. They'd gotten married at 16 and had their first son, Harry, when Olivia was 18. He was six now and she was 24.

"So how is your sister doing, anyways?" Tony asked politely.

"Pretty good. She and her husband Nick got a divorce about a month and a half ago." Pepper said.

"Oh, really? That stinks. She's better now, though?" Tony asked. Pepper nodded.

"Much." Pepper said as she noticed Olivia and Harry walking down the stairs and towards baggage claim. She looked around for a moment then spotted Virgil, Pepper and a boy standing next to Pepper. She walked towards them and gave Virgil a hug, then Pepper; Harry doing the same.

"Hey Olivia! Hey Harry! Good to see you again!" Pepper greeted.

"This is my boyfriend, the guy I was telling you about at thanksgiving, Tony. Tony, this is my sister Olivia and her son Harry." Pepper introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Olivia. Hey, Harry, high five!" Tony bent down and held out his palm. Harry smiled and smacked Tony's hand. Tony laughed lightly and continued to entertain Harry for a few minutes.

"Your boyfriend is Tony Stark? Isn't he supposed to be, you know, dead?" Olivia asked Pepper. Pepper nodded.

"That's what I said when I first found out he was going to my school!" Pepper said.

"Why is he going to school anyways? He's a genius." Olivia asked.

"It was in his dad's will that if anything happened to his dad Tony would go to school." Pepper explained. Olivia nodded.

"Well, he's good looking and totally good with kids. Score for you, right?" Olivia smiled and started talking to Virgil. Tony stood straight again.

"So, let's get you two back to the house so you can unpack your things." Virgil said. They went back to Pepper's house and Pepper showed them to the guest room.

"Well, Rhodey's telling me I have to get home, so I'll see you later, k?" Tony explained to Pepper.

"Ok. See you." Pepper pecked him on the lips quick and Tony grabbed his coat.

"Good seeing you, Mr. Potts," Tony shook hands with Virgil once more, "nice meeting you Olivia and Harry." Tony waved as he approached the door.

"Bye Tony, nice meeting you!" Olivia said.

"Bye, Tony!" Harry smiled.

"See you around, Tony." Virgil said. Tony walked out the door and on home.

"He's such a nice kid, Pepper!" Olivia said.

"Yeah. There's a lot to Tony than you see." Pepper smiled.

**~two days later~**

It was the night before Christmas, and Pepper was downstairs setting the presents under the tree when Harry carried out his secret plan to see Santa Clause by hiding on the steps and watching the Christmas tree.

**(A/N: sudden, but this switches to Harry's POV.)**

I slowly and quietly crept halfway down the stairs so I could see what was happening, but not BE seen. I saw Auntie Pepper walking around the living room, moving things around and putting wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. Then I saw a shadow of someone carefully and quietly close the front door to the apartment. The person had a sack over their back, being held by their hand, and it crept up behind Auntie Pepper and tapped her on the shoulder. Auntie Pepper jumped and turned to see the person. It was a boy her age. He smiled at her and she slapped him on the arm lightly and playfully.  
"Tony, what the heck are you doing here? It's like, 1 in the morning! And what are you wearing?" I heard auntie Pepper whisper. He was wearing a Santa suit...was it really Santa?  
"I thought I'd give you a Christmas present for your sister and your nephew. And one for you too." he smiled and handed auntie pepper his sack. Auntie Pepper looked inside it and saw four presents, neatly wrapped in wrapping paper.  
"Oh, thank you tony! You didn't have to do this, though!" auntie Pepper placed the presents under the tree and walked back to Santa.  
"It was no problem. I AM a billionaire, after all. I thought it would be something nice for Harry and his mom to enjoy." Santa explained. Santa had gotten something for me and mommy!  
"Tony, you're so generous. I don't know how I'll ever repay you!" that's weird. Why is auntie Pepper calling Santa 'Tony'? His name isn't Tony!  
"You know I'm always here for you. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I wasn't?" Santa said. Ewww, Santa isn't auntie Peppers boyfriend! I saw Santa lean in and kiss auntie Pepper on the lips. I gasped and ran to my room. I've got to tell mommy! Auntie Pepper kissed Santa!

"Mommy, mommy, I saw Auntie Pepper downstairs, with Santa!" I gasped as I ran inside the bedroom and tugged on mommy's bed sheet. She rolled over tiredly and faced me with her eyes only half open.

"Harry, you shouldn't be downstairs, Santa will know you're awake. Go back to bed." Mommy said tiredly.

"But mommy, Santa kissed Auntie Pepper!" I explained.

"Harry, it was probably just your imagination. Now go back to bed." Mommy rolled over again so she wasn't facing me again. I grunted and climbed back into my bed.

**One-shot transmission end! Cute, right? But don't worry, I'll have more Christmas specials posted next month. Maybe a sequel to IMAA: A Christmas Story is in our near future? O.O enough of the spoilers, review!**


	3. He Trusts Me!

**Hey peoples! Soo glad to be on break now. Doing some updating tonight. I don't have much to do, I just need to update this story, Her Story, and save some ideas that are still in the planning stage. So, on with the next one-shot! This one is set at the end of "Whiplash" and I do not own the stuff at the beginning. This one is expected to be SHORRTTT…**

As Pepper walked into Tony's room to find him eating his dinner, and Rhodey sitting at his computer desk chatting away about who knows what, she rested her hand on the door frame and her other hand on her hip.

"You mean _we, _right?" Pepper budded in. Tony and Rhodey directed their attention to her. Pepper walked farther inside the room.

"Seriously, why didn't you nerds tell me? I'm _crazy_ trustworthy! I could have helped you fight crime weeks ago! Ooh, we should be fighting crime right now!" Pepper ranted.

"Pepper!" Tony and Rhodey both snapped. Pepper held her hands up.

"Sorry. But seriously, why didn't you tell me?" Pepper asked. She was worried that they didn't trust her as much as they should…

"I tried to tell you a million times, but you never stop talking long enough to let me." Tony explained as he ate more of his dinner.

"Seriously?" Pepper gasped. So they did trust her! Tony nodded as he chewed another bite of food. Pepper was suddenly filled with excitement and joy.

"I, uhh..be right back! Nature's calling and stuff, right?"Pepper dashed out of the room, out the front door and all the way to her house. She ran up to her bedroom, closed her bedroom door and bounced around happily.  
"He trusts me, he trusts me! He really really truuusts me, uh huh! Yeeeahhh!" pepper stopped dancing and took a deep breath. She ran back to the Rhodes' house and into Tony's room. Pepper's father observed his daughters estranged behavior and rolled his eyes.  
"Teenagers..." he huffed.  
"Anyways, what were we talking about?" Pepper asked with a smile.

**VERY very short, I know. I'm sorry. that's really all I had to the idea, and all I had planned. So review?**


	4. Worried About Him And I

As Pepper and Rhodey were walking to Tony's locker, Pepper continued her thoughts aloud to him: "I mean, what if I say I like him and he likes me too but then we get together and everything is perfect and he's like, the one? Then keeping it to myself would have been a HUGE mistake! I'm usually not this afraid to take chances like I am now, but what if…" Pepper trailed off.

"Pepper, I've been there with you guys before. Maybe nothing's been said about it before between the three of us, but I know it's there; you really like him, don't you?" Rhodey said. They stopped walking, and Pepper looked down at her shoes for a moment. Then she looked Rhodey in the face and nodded shyly. Rhodey smiled.

"Pepper, it can't possibly be that stressful. He's just a boy." Rhodey said.

"Yeah, but he's a super-rich, super-smart, Whitney-Stane-attracting famous teenage boy! Do you know how hard it could be on me if I told him I like him and he doesn't like me back?" Pepper worried.

"Pepper, you're taking the situation from the point of view of someone who doesn't personally know him. He trusted you with keeping his secret identity, right? He trusts you with all his other secrets, doesn't he? So what's to worry about? Maybe he likes you too." Rhodey assured her.

"Oh, do you know for sure? Like, did he tell you he likes me?" Pepper asked, sort of in a begging tone.

"Well, no, he didn't exactly _tell_ me, but I can see it in the way he smiles around you." Rhodey said.

"Really? I hadn't ever noticed…I was always too busy, uhh…thinking elsewhere…" Pepper didn't want to say that she half-listened to Tony all the time and half-admired his beauty. It made her seem weird.

"Well, I'm pretty confident that he does." Rhodey said as they stopped at Tony's locker.

"Confident that who does what?" Tony asked. Rhodey said nothing, and looked to Pepper with a smile.

"Uhhh, Rhodey was saying that….he's pretty confident that…his, umm, history teacher does like to…debate history, with his students! Yeah, that." Pepper made up a quick lie.

"Oh. Ok." Tony finished sorting through his water-fountain locker. Pepper admired how the light danced in his eyes whenever it shone on his face, not aware of Tony and Rhodey's conversation.

"Uhh, Pepper, you coming?" Tony asked as they started to walk away. Pepper snapped out of her gaze, "What? Uhh, yeah," and ran to catch up with them.

"Sorry, I had…other stuff on my mind."


	5. Stressed

**Hey guys! I think I've updated all my in-progress stories, so tonight is posting random cute one-shot ideas. And maybe starting some story ideas, because I have one or two. Anyways, this one-shot may be REALLY REALLY short. Or a bit longer. Idk. Let's see.**

**Pepper's POV**

Sometimes I just got so sick and tired of the normal pressures of high school. Wouldn't anyone, after so long? Especially being a girl, there's tons to be stressed out about. It's all too much sometimes. And on top of that, there's team Iron Man weighing in on that stress. And that's not something every teenage girl has part in. Then there's having a secret huge crush on your best friend, and trying not to look like a total idiot in front of him; _then _there's the fact that my secret huge crush is a famous, rich genius inventor who could sweep any girl off their feet whenever he wanted to just because he was at that level. It's all too much sometimes.

But then, there's those moments in life where something or _someone_ instantly removes all that pressure for you. Like, someone you really like a lot just makes you forget about the world when you're in their arms and all you care about in that moment is being with them, and then from that moment you're in a daze all day because of them.

Anyways, that's what happened to me today. It all started after school today…

~….~

"Hey, Tony, hey Rhodey! I'd kind of like to live, you know!" I'd exclaimed over my phone.

"I know, I'm trying the best I can to get over there!" Tony exclaimed through his armor.

"Well I'm just reminding you I'm here!" I exclaimed.

"Trying the best I can here." Tony said, annoyed.

Then I saw Iron Man flying quickly towards me. In what felt like seconds, Iron Man lifted me off the ground and away from the certain doom lurking on the ground. "There, you're safe now." Tony said, heavily breathing.

"He's still loose. I've got to go catch him." Tony said.

"Be careful..." I said as I watched him fly off with a wave.

"Are you okay, Pepper?" I heard Rhodey ask through my earpiece.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said.

"Good. Tony is still looking for Magneto, it looks like pure havoc down there." Rhodey explained. Pepper sighed.

"Well I don't like this Magneto guy. I was nearly killed for having this stupid thing on me." I complained as I looked at the spare Iron Man gauntlet.

"Yeah. Generally life-threatening things tend to not be liked." Rhodey teased.

"Well just be glad you're alive and okay." Rhodey said. I couldn't help but think of Tony at that moment, and how endangered he was at the moment with his suit of armor that could easily be his weakest link thanks to Magneto's metal-attracting powers. All the sudden, my thoughts were shaken. Magneto had landed on the roof, and he was eying the gauntlet that was still dawning my arm. He slowly walked towards me.

"Hand over that gauntlet, girl, and I won't hurt you." He threatened.

"No way!" I yelled. He walked closer to me.

A million things ran through my mind as I backed away slowly. Things ranging from what Tony was doing right now to what was going to become of me now and back to Tony again. I looked behind my back to see the edge coming nearer to me. I felt pressure and stress pile on me by the ton.

"Hand it over now, stupid brat," he threatened once more. I shook my head.

"No!" I exclaimed.

"Then I see I have no choice. I'll have to hurt you now." He threatened. He stepped closer to me. I took a step further and all at once felt my foot slip off the edge, my body following it. I saw how far it was to the ground and felt my stomach weaken.

"Tony!" I screamed. As I braced myself for the impact, I felt my back and my thighs land on something metallic and hard and my bottom sort of sitting there, unsupported. I opened my eyes, which I had only just realized I was squeezing closed quite tightly, and saw a metal face plate just inches from my own face.

"Careful there, lovely. Are you okay?" He said, almost angelically. And he had called me _lovely_. Oh, how sweet it was to almost have fallen to my doom.

"T-thanks, for catching me…I'm fine." I studdered. He started lowering him and me to the ground.

"No problem." He smiled at me. I stared into his eyes. His armor felt cold on my back, but I didn't care. I was in his arms, I was safe from harm and it felt like I'm his little angel or something. He hit the ground in a matter of minutes later. He just stared into my eyes as he opened his face plate, and I stared into his. It was like the world around us didn't exist anymore, and the other was all that mattered in our moment of serenity and peace. We were oblivious to sounds of screaming and panic surrounding us.

"Guys? There's kind of a supervillain on the loose?" Rhodey budded in.

"O-oh, heh, that's right…" Tony snapped out of the gaze he'd been sharing with me just moments ago.

"Umm…you can put me down now…" I said quietly. I didn't want to break it to him, but I could tell I was getting a teeny bit heavy.

"O-oh, r-right…" He carefully placed me down on the ground and flew off to catch Magneto. I sighed. It was like a dream had just almost come true.

**Well, I got that whole 'damsel in distress/Magneto' idea after I'd thought of some cute idea. I was deciding beween this and it taking place with no Iron Man and just on the school's roof on a metal beam or something. I was debating. Magneto was just because I was looking for a villain to use. And disclaimer for that, too. I don't own any Marvel characters, yadda yadda. Review!**


	6. Dinner Date

'**Nother quick one-shot. Hopefully I'll have time for a third quick one tonight.**

Pepper's dad heard the door open and lightly close. He put down his newspaper and saw his teenage daughter walk in. He checked the time.  
"Where have you been, young lady? It's past your curfew." he said.  
"Oh, dad, I had the most wonderful night with my friend. He...hehh, never mind." pepper explained with emotion.  
"What? Who's he?" Pepper's dad asked.  
"Oh, dad, it's just Tony. He...he told me he loves me!" Pepper sighed excitedly.  
"Really now? Is that so?" Pepper's dad asked interestedly. Pepper nodded. She was filled with excitement.  
"Totally the best night of my life!" Pepper yelled as she walked up the stairs.

"Yes, well it's totally time for you to get to bed!" Virgil yelled up the stairs.

"On it, dad!" Pepper yelled back.

"Oh, and Pepper, honey, make sure you invite the boy to dinner tomorrow. I think it's about time to meet him." Virgil added. Pepper giggled.

"Yeah, dad!"

_**The next day…**_

"Tony, it's the most exciting thing, my dad wants you to come over and have dinner with us!" Pepper explained as Tony worked on his armor.  
"When?" Tony asked without looking up.  
"Uhh...tonight?" Pepper explained innocently. Tony looked up at his girlfriend, smiled and lightly brushed her chin with a single finger and bent back over his work.  
"Sure. I'd love to." Pepper squealed.  
"Awesome! Let's go!" Pepper grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him towards the exit.  
"What? Now?" tony asked, looking back at his work.  
"Yeah. My dad's making dinner now." pepper explained.  
_**-Later-**_  
"Dad? This is Tony." Pepper pointed to Tony as she closed the door behind her and approached her father. Tony waved.  
"Tony, this is my dad." Pepper explained.  
"How do you do, Mr. Potts." Tony greeted politely as he shook hands with Pepper's dad.  
"Not too bad, how's it going Tony?" Pepper's dad asked. Pepper giggled at their bonding small talk.  
"Good, sir. Good." Tony answered.

**After dinner and dessert…**

"Night, lovely." Tony kissed her goodbye before he headed back home. Pepper closed the door behind her as she reentered her house.

"Well? What do you think daddy?" Pepper asked ever so sweetly.

"He's a fine young man." Virgil said. "I approve of him." Pepper squealed with delight and texted Tony about it.

**Well, short n' sweet. I kinda just jumped to certain parts there, sorry; I'm short on time. Review?**


	7. In Your Dreams

**Ok, this one has to be REALLY short and REALLY quick, so here goes.**

As Pepper entered the armory, she heard snoring. She spotted Tony laying over the armor, wrench in hand, fast asleep. She smiled deviously. She was going to mess with him. She slowly and quietly tiptoed over to him.  
"Nnnnmm, noo mommy not the yellow crayons the blue ones..." Tony moaned in his sleep. Pepper laughed and covered her mouth with her hand.  
"But Tony, you don't have any yellow crayons. Just blue." Pepper whispered into his ear. Tony's arms flailed in a motion to grab something in front of him; good thing Pepper was on his side.

"But Captain Commando can't save Ms. Finnie from danger with blue stuff. He needs yellow…" Tony muttered. Suddenly Pepper felt differently.

"Don't be worried about him, Tony. Someday you're going to be the one saving your friends from danger, and your friend who's a girl will save you from the dangers of teenage drama, because she's brave and compassionate, and likes you a lot…" Pepper felt a wave of passion come over her. Tony rolled over, and Pepper jumped back; as she was doing so, stepped on a forlorn potato chip. She listened in fear as the loud crunching noise awoke Tony. He stood up straight and stretched his arms.

"Were you messing with me?" He asked. Pepper blushed.

"Me? Messing with you? No, I just got here and saw you were sleeping. So I was going to l-leave you to your rest…" Pepper lied. Tony gave her a 'no, really.' Glare.

"It sounded like you in my dream." Tony said.

"So? That doesn't prove anything." Pepper said defensively.

"So I'm just saying all the evidence points to that."

"Okay, so maybe it was me. So what?"

"So I think I like you a lot too. We are friends, after all, right?" Tony smiled. Pepper frowned. That's not exactly what she'd meant when she said that.

"Yeah. Just friends." Pepper grunted under her breath as they walked out.

**Short, sweet, to the point. Sorry if it's kind of random in some places, I don't have time for a basic storyline and a stringing of events here. I just wanted to get this down. Review?**


	8. Watch Out!

Pepper must not have been looking at where she was going (or just too concentrated on Tony to watch her step), because one minute she was walking casually and the next she was tripping over whatever had been on the floor and falling onto something soft and warm. She opened her eyes—which she hadn't realized she'd shut—and looked around. She hadn't fallen to the floor. But what had caught her?

Pepper looked to her side to see Tony just inches from her face, with his arms wrapped around her waist. She blushed when she realized how close they were, and when she saw Tony smiling down at her.

"Careful, there, don't want to ruin that pretty face of yours," Tony said. He blushed when he realized what he'd said. Pepper blushed more, but was flattered with the comment. _He called me pretty!_ She thought.

"Uhh, t-thanks, I'm always tripping over stuff…" Why Pepper did not move was beyond her, but neither did Tony. Pepper got stuck deep in his eyes, and Tony just kept staring at her and enjoying the fact that he was holding her almost romantically and she wasn't resisting. In the moment, Tony leaned in closer…

Suddenly, Tony heard the door to the lab slide open and immediately released Pepper, blushing hard. Pepper stood back and leaned against a wall, hiding her obvious blush behind her phone.

Rhodey, when he had walked in, felt how awkward the room was.

"Umm…is there something I missed here?" He asked.

"W-what? No, no nothing happened, just working…" Tony muttered quickly. Rhodey shrugged.

**Okay, short one-shot. But its probably the last one I'll be doing for this story. Feelin' a need to eeenddd it hurr…anyways, review!**


	9. Conversation

Pepper watched as Tony was set down on his bed. He looked peaceful in his sleep—or, rather, in the state of having passed out—yet, it was not peaceful as it seemed. They had been betrayed, and she felt regret for ever changing her mind about Gene. She'd only made friends with him for Tony; everything she did, it seemed, was for Tony. _Stupid boys…_

"Pepper, you okay?" Pepper snapped out of her daze and looked to see that Rhodey had asked the question.

"Umm, kind of." Pepper looked back to Tony. Rhodey observed her look and knew why she was looking.

"Look, Pepper, I-if you like him its okay." Pepper looked at Rhodey as if he'd grown a second head. But then she sighed.

"It's just…in that temple, I didn't…I…I was in between them, I didn't know who to choose, I mean…I just don't know." Pepper complained.

"Pepper, look at Tony. Go ahead, just look at him." Pepper, confused, did as she was told and gazed at Tony. Somehow she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

"How do you feel?" Rhodey asked.

"Who are you, my therapist?" Rhodey crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"How do you feel?" Rhodey asked once more. Pepper sighed.

"Okay, so maybe I like him a little." Rhodey kept his eyebrow cocked.

"Okay, maybe a lot." Rhodey kept his gaze.

"Okay, so maybe I'm in love…"

Suddenly, they heard Tony awaken and turned to him.

…**and you all know the rest. Okay, so I lied. There was one more in me. (maybe there'll be just one more…idk.) Well, review!**


End file.
